Māyurveda ~ Yoga By Trimester

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Baddha Konasana {bound angle pose, often referred to as Goddess Pose}
Here is your guide to yoga practice during your pregnancy. Of course, it is lucky if you have a suitable prenatal yoga class or teacher locally, who is truly trained and knowledgeable in prenatal yoga. You may also want to practice at home and get more support and guidance from me via private yoga sessions. What is comfortable during pregnancy will vary greatly from one mama to the next... the primary caveat of pregnancy yoga is to Trust. Your. Gut. Here's a photo of me in that beloved pregnancy yoga pose, which opens the hips and pelvis, calms the mind and relieves low back pain. Do this pose with support behind you {such as a wall or a firm couch or chair} and under your knees to protect overstretching of the ligaments.  During pregnancy, you can do this pose for up to 5 hours a day! When??? When you are lounging on the couch eating organic coconut icecream or a warm almond milk with maple syrup and watching a cute movie {I'm serious}. 
General Guidelines
  • Trust your gut Mama! A side benefit of pregnancy is more sensitivity and body-awareness. You simply are more tuned in to yourself... maybe this is a biological factor that kicks in to help Mama protect the baby... but it is an amazing boon during pregnancy. You can apply it to your yoga practice. Do what you are drawn to do {being aware-full of the contraindications and recommendations below}. Do not do what seems particularly questionable, distasteful or scary to you. This is not a time to push yourself to your limits {save that for birth and motherhood!} If a yoga teacher suggests a pose that you are not keen to do in the moment, ask for an alternative or substitute pose {hint, when in doubt, go into Baddha Konasana}
  • Careful not to overstretch or pull and force into poses. Your ligaments easily overstretch during pregnancy, thanks to hormones being released beginning right after conception. This helps with making more baby space and preparing you for birthing a baby, but also can make you susceptible to injury during pregnancy. While your baby is very protected in the womb, this warming is about Mama's health and safety and a healthy Mama makes a healthy baby. Injury can lead you toward bed rest, which nobody wants! Yogi Mamas who were already very hyper-mobile prior to conception {such as dancers, gymnasts and yoga teachers} need to proceed with caution, modify or "back out of" extreme angles and prop, prop, prop! In particular, your ankles, SI joints, lumbar, hips and shoulders are subject to pain and injuries related to over-stretching (such as sciatic pain}.  In addition, over-stretching of the ligaments cause more tension in the nearby deep muscles.  For example, when the hip ligaments are loose, the pelvic muscles tighten.  When you prop to prevent extreme angles and overstretching, the ligaments stabilize and the muscles release.
  • Regarding more challenging yoga poses ~ In general, if you practiced certain advanced yoga poses before pregnancy, you may be more comfortable with them further into pregnancy than others.  Pregnancy is not a time to learn new challenging poses, though if experienced, practicing them is often fine.  
  • If the pregnancy is high risk or multiples, please check with your doctor or midwife before beginning yoga. 
My yoga journey during pregnancy ~ I hardly did any āsana during the first trimester. Maybe 15 minutes here and there. I was very nauseous and just not drawn to the floor to do yoga. During the second trimester I did LOTS of yoga, taught A LOT and was very active. This continued into my third trimester. By the last month I really wound down and was back to maintenance yoga of just 15 minutes a day, mostly seated poses with my back and knees supported. I did a few yoga poses during labor as well!

First Trimester

Congratulations! Now, take a deep breath and slow down. The first trimester is considered in Ayurveda like a vessel of oil. You want to tread gently. The best yoga during the first trimester is restorative, slow and gentle. This is not a time for weightloss, fitness, running, or jumping. For overachievers this is a big transition... your mantra to recall again and again is "I'm building a person, and that is a big job! Nausea may also prevent you from doing yoga comfortably. You may get more relief from daily walks in the fresh air {if you are in a hot season or climate, try evening or early morning walks as heat can increase nausea}

While the general rule in yoga is that whatever you were doing prior to getting pregnant, you can safely do during the first trimester, there are some limitations that will begin at this time because the first trimester is a delicate time for the fetus. Some women choose to back off from their prior practices at this time and simply rest and relax {naps and early bedtimes are great during the first trimester. It is important to note that, Mamas who were NOT doing yoga prior to conception should hold off until the 2nd trimester to begin an asana practice, with the exception of meditation, shavasana and gentle breathing practices. 

Your first trimester is all about physical rest, relaxation and stability. {Including the yoga of sleep}, giving time and space for the body, fetus and uterus to do it's job without getting in your own way. 

First Trimester Faves

  • Ujjayi Pranayama {more}
  • Lunar Alternate Nostril Breathing, starting and ending on the left nostril {instructions}
  • Shavasana {details}
  • Yoga Nidra; Yogic Sleep {free recording!}
  • Meditation
  • Restorative Poses, Gentle Poses {more}
  • Forward Bends ~ promote a meditative state and letting go. These are beneficial as long as is comfortable.  Mom should bend from hips to get the most movement in the spine, and let the breathing move into her back.  Be careful not to overstretch, do not pull into a deeper stretch.    
  • Side Bends and Side Angles ~  lengthen the ribcage and open up breathing. 
  • Seated Poses
  • Moderate or Gentle Backbends {such as Cat + Cow Pose}
  • Reclined Pose {on back or belly}
  • Baddha Konasana
  • Twists that purely twist behind the heart {no belly twisting}
  • All Seated Poses for Meditation ~ Seated poses promote a meditative experience and quiet the mind. This is a great tool for soothing the excessive thinking and anxiety that can accompany the big changes of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. 

Second Trimester

Yay! Welcome to the second trimester! You look pregnant, you likely feel great {free from first trimester anxieties and discomforts}, and you are at your strongest right now. This is the time you can do more standing poses, movement {such as gentle vinyasa sequences} and strength-based practices. Always be safe, and consider what is appropriate and truly beneficial for you and your baby, of course. But this is the time when you might want to get and and find a group prenatal class, and build sangha {community}. You can also enjoy a home practice, and if you don't have one, get one going toward the end of the 2nd trimester, because you may not want to go out as much later in your pregnancy. 

Your second trimester is all about strength, resiliency, empowerment, expansion and enthusiasm. This is your time to go for it! 

2nd Trimester Faves

Continue anything and everything from the first Trimester Faves list, plus... 
  • Standing Poses ~ increase strength and stamina and uplift your state. When standing upright, gently pull your navel in toward your spine to activate the transverse abdominus.  Do not do a pelvic tuck.  Check for excess sway back.   If yon need help with balance, use a wall or chair for support. 
  • Trikonasana {lean hand into thigh or a prop such as a chair or yoga block, not knee or floor} 
  • Warrior 2
  • Tadāsana
  • Gentle and moderate flow sequences {no jumping}
  • Moderate Abdominal Strengthening - especially drawing the navel inward at half strength toward the spine during standing poses
  • Longer Holds, or more Movement {or both}
  • Side Lying Poses {instead of reclined on your back}
  • Vrkshasana; Tree Pose {as long as your use a wall for support - this has no particular benefit for pregnancy, but if you must indulge, use a wall!} 
  • Twists that purely twist behind the heart {no belly twisting}
  • Cat + Cow Pose Massages your spine and whole back body. Careful not to overarch your spine in cow pose, but get a nice big rounding toward the ceiling in Cat. 
  • Childs Pose {widen your legs to make room for your belly} is a great pose for increasing sense of safety and security
  • Side Bends and Side Angles ~ lengthen the ribcage and open up breathing. These give you more baby space along the sides of the waist. Just be careful not to overdo it. Use a prop, such as a block under your hand. 
  • Seated Poses ~ Sukhasana, Svastikasana, Half Lotus, Virāsana, {prop under both knees for all of these}, and Vajrāsana. These are all great for meditation, inner quietude or for sitting in while you read a great Pregnancy or Birth book!
  • Challenging Poses in general are a great opportunity to practice your birth methods, provided the pose is a safe one for pregnancy!

Third Trimester

You're here! And you may be going strong all the way until birth, or you may be slowing down. Again, trust your gut here. There may be a time near the final stages when you want to nest, stay in, and mostly do simple "maintenance yoga" of a few poses here and there. 

If you don't yet have a home practice going, it is time to get one with me or another prenatal teacher or yoga therapist. Why? There will be a time when you don't want to or can't make it to group classes... including postpartum. Once you are ready to do yoga again after giving birth, you may want to do so from home, with baby sleeping or playing nearby with your partner or a family member. Getting out to a group class may be too much to expect for awhile, and you may just want to be able to do a quick fix here and there of a single pose or two. 

This is a time to re-center inward. You may have been more social and active during the second trimester and feel ready to move inward in preparation for the profound transformation of birth. Meditation and seated poses are key here. 

Your third trimester is all about mental strength and quietude, love, and surrender. This is your time to prepare for birth. 

3rd Trimester Faves

Continue any and everything from the 1st trimester faves {except no more reclined poses on your back}. You can also continue your 2nd Trimester Faves as long as they feel comfortable and appropriate. 
  • Baddha Konasana
  • All Seated Poses for Meditation ~  Seated poses promote a meditative experience and quiet the mind. It is best to prop under you with a few folded blankets or a firm flat bolster so that your knees are level with your hips, not higher. This prevents your low back from slumping and creates more baby space and hip relief. In addition you can prop under your knees {go ahead, you deserve it and it will prevent your hip ligaments from over-stretching!}
  • Side-Lying Shavasana with Guided Relaxation is KEY to preparing for birth. This will help train you to relax in the breaks between contractions. 
  • All side-lying variations of reclined poses
  • Twists that purely twist behind the heart {no belly twisting}
  • Inversions - if recommended due to a need to turn the baby, here Legs up the wall is often sufficient. In these cases I highly recommend acupuncture as well. 
  • Squatting ~ As mentioned in the cautions below, start this practice closer to the 36th month. Squatting will increase your strength and stamina and is a good birthing position! One option is to squat with your heels and back on a wall, and slide down the wall. You can also put a block or two on the floor for your butt to land on. This supported squat will increase strength + release at the same time, which is exactly what you need for birth. 
  • Lunar Alternate Nostril Breathing {instructions}
  • Ujjayi Pranayama {more}

Yoga Contraindications + Cautions Regarding All Trimesters

  • No breath retention {holding the breath, in or out} ... until labor!
  • No sending the breath downward... until labor! We do not want to increase downward flow until then. 
  • No rapid breathing or heating breathing practices such as Kapala Bati {if you don't know what that is, that's fine!}
  • Reclined Poses - Lying on your Back - go for it during your first trimester. By the 15th week or so you may not be comfortable on your back. You can safely lie on your back for a few minutes at a time {unless you are told by your doctor or midwife to avoid this}. At this time, you'll want to transition to side-lying poses, including during Shavasana instead of lying on your back. Especially avoid lying on your back if baby is turned posteriorly.    I am happy to help you with this via skype. There are additional side-lying poses that are amazing during pregnancy, which I can show you in person or via skype in a private session. 
  • Lying on your Belly - This is fine during the first trimester. Baby is very low near your pubic bone, and very protected. By the second trimester, certainly you are done lying on your belly unless you have a nearby yoga therapist who knows how to make a belly-nest with blankets {seriously we do this!}.
  • Spinal Twists - belly twists or any extreme twists are CONTRAINDICATED during pregnancy. Do only twists that exclusively twist the upper ribcage {between the shoulder blades} and up into the neck. Do not twist the belly. 
  • Jumping - no, don't jump up and down - that includes jumping during sun salutations. If you salute the sun during pregnancy, he will totally understand and applaud you STEPPING in and out of the poses, not jumping. Jumping is only acceptable if you find out that your sister/best friend is also pregnant. 
  • Inversions - this is debated in the yoga world. During the second and third trimester, for women who safely did these pre-conception may be drawn to them. Use caution and modifications here, if you do them at all. Check in with your motivation for doing them. Is this about attachment and ego? Is there a true reason to make this benefical and appropriate? There are times when this can be useful to turn a baby in preparation for labor and delivery, even then, it usually just recommended that Mama do a supported Viparita Karāni {legs up the wall}. My main concern with classical inversions is falling and causing harm to Mama or baby. You don't realize that you don't know how to balance until you fall. Balancing during pregnancy is totally different. If you plan to try inversions, do them with an experienced prenatal teacher in the room. No yoga pose is worth harming yourself or your baby. Okay? 'Nuf said. 
  • Heating Practices - Nope. No headstands. No hot yoga. No heated yoga rooms. No hot tubs or saunas. You got enough heat during pregnancy, you don't need any extra!
  • Backbends - Moderate backbends during the first and even the second trimester can be fine. I highly recommend Cat + Cow pose, or Chakravakāsana. However, if you have a swayback, lots of low back ache, or are carrying very forward... backbends can prove very uncomfortable and even painful. Suffice it to say, in these cases, you do not need to do more backbending. By the third trimester, even a mild backbend may be too much for your lumbar spine as your belly is already pulling you into a back bend all day. Side stretches / side angles will give you relieve, as will side-lying poses and forward bends. 
  • Squatting - Start this practice closer to the 36th month. Some yoga teachers prescribe squatting throughout pregnancy, however, Ayurveda suggests waiting until you are closer to full term, as squatting increases downward flow. Again, follow your gut on this one, but if you have a history of miscarriage, do wait until you are well into the 3rd trimester. Then go for it! It will increase your strength and stamina and is a good birthing position!
  • Kegels - totally unnecessary and potentially damaging to the health of your pelvis! I'm SO happy that many other professionals are coming around to this. I did one single kegel during pregnancy {out of curiosity} and had a healthy birth and recovery with no pelvic floor issues that are common among so many women who do kegels. There has never been ANY proof of their value or effectiveness. You are much better off spending your time hiking in nature, swimming in the ocean or doing actual yoga. Want more on this? Check out an article from Katy Bowman. 

BONUS! DUE DATE breathing practice!

This is something that I do with my pregnant yoga students when they reach their due date to stimulate labor. 

It is NOT safe to do BEFORE you reach your due date, but otherwise is a safe way to start natural induction once you reach your due date.

This is a rough recording that I did literally while I was teaching a group class. I plan to re-record soon, but I wanted to get it up for a few of you who have due dates this MONTH! 

You can do this practice seated, or lying down on your side... you can do this practice a couple times a day if you like. It has 2 main practices embedded into one - you can do one, or both, as you like! 
  1. The first is to HOLD the inhale for a count of 4, and exhale naturally. This can be done for 2-5 minutes. 
  2. The second practice is to send your breath down on the inhale, and further down on the exhale. This can be done for 2-5 minutes as well! 

The recording cuts in a little late - the first line is "SLOW down your breathing". 

Enjoy and happy birth Mama!
Love, 
​Kaya